By Michaela Hancock For some, poetry recalls the often dreadful memories of annotating rhyme scheme, syllable count and figurative language in high school English classes. However, some students at The University of Alabama have a greater affinity for the art. Some discovered writing and performing their own poetry after already being involved in other arts, while others found it to be a release for teen angst, but they all share a love for the creative outlet provided by poetry and spoken word. Jahman Hill, a second year graduate student at The University of Alabama, started writing poetry when Poetry is so important as a means of expression, and the community building that happens when people come together over poetry is so beautiful. he came to college. Before that, he had written rap music, which he described as terrible, so he decided to try poetry instead. Hill is now a published poet whose book, Made From my Mother’s Ceiling was released earlier this year. He also travels the country performing his work. Kailey Webster, a University of Alabama junior, started writing poetry in high school. As part of the speech and debate team, poetry was her favorite event. She learned more about poetry and developed an interest for writing her own, which she began doing her senior year. Hill and Webster both joined The University of Alabama’s speech and debate team. They bonded over a shared interest in poetry and began attending poetry slams together where one or both were competing. However, they always had to travel for the slams, and they noticed the poetry scene as a whole lacked a presence in Tuscaloosa. Then on the way home from a slam in June, Webster had the idea to create their own presence in Tuscaloosa. “Let’s just do it,” Webster said. “Let’s make a poetry venue.” After making the executive decision to pursue this, Hill and Webster met with one of Hill’s close mentors, Dr. Utz McKnight, a professor in gender and race studies at the university. McKnight supported the idea and suggested that they go about starting a student organization. With his help with the logistics, Hill and Webster started the process of beginning a campus organization, still concerned about the potential lack of students’ interest in joining. “At the time, we knew of maybe two other people who were interested in spoken word or slam,” Webster said. “There was still this level of doubt of, ‘Is this something Tuscaloosa wants?’” Still they continued filling out forms and spreading the word, and in July they held their first event as the Alabama Student Association for Poetry (ASAP). The organization’s first big event, “ASAP Blitz,” happened in September 2017. The event featured a workshop led by poet and spoken word artist, Steven Willis. From there, ASAP started biweekly open mic nights at Monarch Espresso Bar. The open mic nights have 68 <strong>Alice</strong> Spring 2018
<strong>Alice</strong> Spring 2018 69